With enthusiasm palpable across campus and on social media, UCSB Give Day in its sophomore outing raised $5,695,951 from 1,511 donors in just 24 hours.

Those numbers significantly best the university’s inaugural effort in 2016, which saw 1,268 donors give $3.7 million over the same time period.

"Give Day 2018 was an amazing event and a huge campus success," said Beverly Colgate, UCSB’s associate vice chancellor for development. "Our most important number is the number of participants, including those posting, viewing, liking and — of course — giving. Our thanks to everyone is overwhelmingly abundant. Go Gauchos!”

Alumni events in multiple California cities on April 11 helped kick off the digital fundraising drive that was held April 12. Back at UCSB, the pop-up surprises started early and continued all day, driving on-campus excitement around Give Day 2018. Food giveaways and free activities for students at staff were held at locations including the UCen, Mosher Alumni House, Engineering II, the Student Resource Building, the Recreation Center and the UCSB Library.

Across the major social media platforms — Twitter, Instagram and Facebook — Give Day was a hot topic among Gaucho communities throughout the day, resulting in thousands of mentions for #UCSBGiveDay. Celebrated superstar musician Jack Johnson was among the prominent UCSB alumni who helped boost and sustain engagement.

For its second Give Day, the university aimed to celebrate the many stories of UCSB — stories of impact, of opportunity, of leadership, of legacy, among many others — while crafting a new chapter for today and for the future. The 24-hour “digital pep rally” employed social media and other digital tools to unite the university’s many communities around their UCSB connections and experiences, while engaging donors and raising donations.